Europe's environment and climate policies have delivered substantial benefits, improving the environment and quality of life, while driving innovation, job creation and growth. Despite these gains, Europe still faces a range of persistent and growing environmental challenges. Addressing them will require fundamental changes in the systems of production and consumption that are the root cause of environmental problems.

This study undertakes an analysis of the
environmental dimensions of territorial cohesion
and of related EU policies. It is intended to
contribute to and support external processes
including the European Commission's Green
Paper on Territorial Cohesion, revision of the
EU budget (e.g. regarding Cohesion Policy) and
the work of ESPON (the European Spatial Planning
Observation Network) on territorial indicator
development.

The family run Fattoria La Vialla in Tuscany is a shining example of truly sustainable farm-ing. Every element of the production chain, from preparing the soil through to packaging the produce, has been planned with the environment in mind.

The European Union has set an objective to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Europe is currently suffering from a steady loss of biodiversity, with profound consequences for the natural world and for human well-being. The main causes are changes in natural habitats and these, in turn, are due to intensive agricultural production systems, construction, quarrying, overexploitation of forests, oceans, rivers, lakes and soils, alien species invasions, pollution and — increasingly — global warming.